


The Perfect Gift

by Steggy4evr



Category: Agent Carter - Fandom, Captain America, Peggy Carter - Fandom, Steve Rogers - Fandom, steggy - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9066277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steggy4evr/pseuds/Steggy4evr
Summary: This is what I wrote for my Steggy Secret Santa. Just a little fluff piece to assuage my poor feelings.





	

Chapter 1

Peggy walked through the department store, eyes wide at the sheer volume of goods on display. It was like absolutely nothing in the 1940’s.

“I cannot believe there is so much variety and choice!” she exclaimed to Nat. Nat smiled indulgently. Peggy had wanted to get Steve the perfect Christmas present for tomorrow, and Nat had volunteered to go with her. Actually, Tony had volunteered first, but knowing Tony as she did, Nat figured she’d better come along and keep him in line. Although Peggy actually handled Tony better than anyone else. Of course, she had been quite close to Howard, and Peggy assured Nat that the apple did not fall far from the tree.

“You know Steve doesn’t actually want anything, right?” Nat questioned. “Ever since Tony miraculously brought you into the future, Steve has been on cloud 9. I don’t think there’s a single thing you can get him that will make him any happier than he already is.”

“I don’t know,” Tony stated. “I think this would make him pretty happy.” He was a few feet in front of them, and as he turned around, they could see him holding up a skimpy lingerie outfit.

Both women glared at Tony. “Tony…” Peggy warned.

“What?” he asked innocently. “I’m just trying to give you a man’s point of view of what we would like for Christmas from our girlfriends.”

“Right,” said Nat, rolling her eyes. “Cause you and Steve are so much alike. Two peas in a pod.” Tony stuck his tongue out at her.

“Ok, children, let’s just keep looking, shall we? There must be something in this entire mall that would be perfect for Steve.”

After 2 hours of walking through 30 different stores, and Tony’s more and more outlandish gift ideas, Peggy finally admitted defeat.

“Bloody hell, my feet are killing me, and I’ve nothing at all to show for it. Let’s just go home.” Peggy said grumpily.

Back at the Tower, Peggy walked in to find Steve just coming out of the kitchen. His face lit up with a smile when he saw her, and he hurried over to greet her.

“How was shopping? Did you have fun?” he asked. 

“It was fine, but I didn’t find what I wanted. And Tony is an exhausting shopping partner.”

“Hey, I take offense to that!” Tony exclaimed with an exaggerated look of injury.

“Yeah, Peggy, that’s a severe understatement. Tony’s exhausting in everything he does.” Nat pointed out. Steve and Peggy both laughed, and Nat smiled at them. It was so nice to see Steve so happy for a change. Weird, but nice.

Steve took Peggy’s hand and pulled her down the hallway a bit. She looked at him, wondering what he was up to. He smiled shyly at her.

“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked quietly, blushing just a bit. Peggy bit back a smile at his earnestness. Ever since Tony had brought her into this new age a few days ago, she had been surprised and touched to find that Steve was still awkward and uncertain around her. They had spent the last few days talking almost non-stop, sitting with each other late into the night just catching up with each other. Sometimes they sat in complete silence, listening to the conversations of the others as Peggy leaned against him, both of them content for now to just take things slowly and revel in this unexpected gift of a second chance together again. But she knew that Steve, like her, had not forgotten that they had made a date 70 years ago. And she had been pleased to find that Steve still wanted to be with her even after all this time.

“I would love to have dinner with you,” she assured him, bemused as he looked relieved. Had he honestly doubted her answer? “Where are we going?”

“Well, actually, I, uh, thought we could eat in my apartment here,” he answered. Seeing her look of surprise, he rushed on. “We won’t be disturbed, I already told everyone to stay away and Pepper promised to keep Tony locked up.” Steve turned red as he remembered Tony’s wildly inappropriate comments to Steve’s request that everyone not bother him and Peggy that night. Luckily, Pepper had taken pity on Steve, and had managed to shut Tony up by promising to keep him well occupied so Steve and Peggy could have an uninterrupted evening. As Tony had started instead to make wildly inappropriate comments about how Pepper planned to entertain him, Steve had thankfully made his getaway unnoticed.

Peggy was surprised that Steve wanted to stay in for their date. Since it was Christmas Eve, she had assumed he would want to spend it with the rest of the Avengers, as she knew they were all very close. She didn’t mind staying in alone with Steve at all, she actually hoped it would lead to more than just dinner and dancing. As much as she understood the need for taking it slow for a few days, she was more than ready to take the next step with Steve. They had already waited so long, she didn’t want to wait any longer. But Peggy knew that Steve had certain ideas about propriety, and about how to treat a lady. She didn’t want to rush him, but she was fairly certain they were both eager to go to the next level. 

As Peggy stayed silent, Steve began to worry. Did she think he was trying to just get her into his apartment? Was he being too forward? Too presumptuous? He didn’t know any more about women now than he had 70 years ago, and he worried that he had botched things before he could even tell Peggy how he felt about her. In his panic, he started stuttering, trying to explain himself before she could get the wrong idea.

“We don’t have to, I mean, I just thought it would be quiet and intimate, not - not that I mean anything by intimate, I just figured we could be alone and talk some more, without everyone listening in, but if it makes you uncomfortable, of course we could go out, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to - to, uh, take advantage of you, I mean, I - ” Here Peggy finally let out the soft laugh she’d been holding in while listening to Steve try to explain that his intentions were pure. He was blushing furiously, and fine drops of sweat stood out on his forehead as he stumbled over his words, trying to reassure Peggy. 

“Steve, I would be delighted to come to your apartment for dinner,” Peggy reached her hands up to his shoulders and stood on tiptoe, pulling his shoulders down so she could whisper in his ear. “And I certainly hope that you did mean something by ‘intimate’.” Ignoring Steve’s sudden sharp intake of breath at her words, she pressed a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. 

Releasing his shoulders, she turned and walked back into the family room where Nat and Tony were arguing about god-only-knows-what-now, leaving Steve staring after her in a stunned sort of way.

Chapter 2

Peggy stood outside of Steve’s door, trying to control her nerves. She didn’t know why she was so nervous all of a sudden; she had been looking forward to being alone with Steve for a very long time now. She was certainly no innocent; she had had several affairs both before and during the war. Until she had met Steve, Peggy had never thought of herself as a one-man woman. She certainly wasn’t promiscuous, but she also had no intention of being stuck with the same guy for her entire life. She knew now that she had only felt that way because she hadn’t yet met the right partner.

To her surprise, the door opened even though she hadn’t yet knocked. Steve stood there, smiling at her look of confusion.

“Jarvis told me you were here,” he explained. “Jarvis, a little privacy for the rest of the night, please?”

“Of course, Captain, as you wish.” Jarvis replied. Peggy sighed sorrowfully. She missed the real Mr. Jarvis. They had become quite close while working together to clear Howard’s name after the war.

Steve held the door open wide to let her in. Peggy smiled at him as she walked into his apartment, and stopped short in amazement. The entire Stark tower was like a futuristic building, with all the very latest, cutting edge technology that you could possibly dream of. But Steve’s apartment looked like a throwback to a bygone era, more like what she was used to. Soft colors, a few good pictures on the walls, simple furniture, the heavenly aroma of whatever he was cooking for dinner; she felt more at home here than anyplace else she had been to so far. 

Peggy turned to Steve. “I love your apartment. It’s so…homey.”

Steve grinned at her. “Thanks. You should have seen the look on Tony’s face when I told the decorator I would pick out everything myself.”

Peggy laughed. “I can imagine. Tony is so much like Howard, it’s almost scary!”

Steve picked up a little remote control. “Almost forgot.” he said as he pushed some buttons. Immediately, soft jazz music filled the apartment. Peggy felt both happy and nostalgically sad. Steve noticed the look on her face. “Should I turn it off?” he asked.

“No. Please don’t. It’s perfect. It just made me think of home. But I’m very happy right where I am.”

Steve nodded and then excused himself to get the roast out of the oven. They both sat at the little kitchen table, eating and talking with a freedom that had been missing during previous conversations. Part of it was that they could talk without comments from the others. Not that anyone meant to be rude or disrespectful, but when Steve and Peggy discussed things from 70 years in the past, everyone else couldn’t help but jump in with questions and observations made in hindsight.

Peggy told Steve about the antics of Howard and the Howling Commandos, she told him about what it was like working at the SSR for a bunch of chauvinistic assholes, and she told him about her best friend Angie. Steve discussed what it was like waking up and finding out 70 years had passed in the blink of an eye, and how it felt knowing that his old way of life was gone. They cleaned up the kitchen, still talking, and when the dishes were loaded in the dishwasher, Steve took her by the hand and led her to the family room. He was blushing again.

“Agent Carter, may I have this dance?” he asked shyly. Peggy smiled up at him. “Of course, Captain.” she replied.

As they began to move in time to the music, Peggy was surprised that Steve was actually doing quite well.

“You must have been practicing.” she said to Steve as he twirled her around his apartment.

“You can find anything online these days,” he answered. “When Tony showed up with you last week, I just started watching a whole lot of dance videos and practiced as much as I could.”

Peggy laughed, looking up into Steve’s bright blue eyes. She had never felt so happy, so at peace before. Steve truly was her right partner. And, judging by the way he was looking at her, he felt the same way. Steve gazed into her eyes, and she felt his grip tighten just a bit on her waist. He stopped dancing, and before she could ask what was wrong, he was leaning down into her. His lips met hers tentatively, then more firmly when she didn’t pull away. He moved his mouth against hers slowly, and he gently tugged her body closer to his. 

Peggy returned the kiss, parting her lips and running her tongue along Steve’s lower lip. His breath caught and he opened his mouth slightly, allowing her tongue to delve into his mouth. His arms squeezed her more firmly still, but she found it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t get enough of him, and she deepened the kiss, thrilled when Steve followed her example and began to take the initiative. His mouth worked against hers, his hands caressed her back, and Peggy was forced to finally draw back, panting harshly. Steve didn’t even pause, he simply moved his mouth down, kissing along her chin and then her neck. Peggy’s hands came up and gripped the back of his neck, pulling him tighter to her.

Steve moaned softly. “Peggy,” he whispered. He finally pulled back and looked at her. “Peggy, I’ve wanted to tell you for so long that I love you. When I woke up from the ice, my biggest regret was not telling you that I love you.”

“Oh, Steve, darling, I love you, too.” Peggy said. Steve’s face lit up and he bent down, crushing his lips against hers hungrily. They kissed passionately, hands roaming more freely now, before it was Steve’s turn to pull away, breathing heavily.

“Peggy,” he said, voice hoarse with emotion. “This is the very best Christmas present you could have given me. You’re here, you want to stay, and you love me. There is absolutely nothing more that I could ask for right now. I’ve never been this happy before. I love you so much.”

Peggy sighed happily as she stood on tiptoe to kiss Steve softly. “We are both very lucky, darling. I never thought I could be this happy. And,” she added teasingly, “I’m glad there’s nothing more you want, because I never did find you the perfect present.”

Steve chuckled as he pulled her closer again. “Actually,” he corrected her, “you are the perfect present!”


End file.
